UMMAF/KICK International approved by New York State Athletic Commission

The United States Mixed Martial Arts KICK International Federation is excited to announce that this morning we gained approval from the New York State Athletic Commission to regulate the sports of amateur MMA, amateur Kickboxing and Muay Thai, professional Kickboxing and professional Muay Thai. All amateur events will be held under the UMMAF banner while professional Muay Thai and Kickboxing will fall under KICK International.

UMMAF/KICK International, under the direction of Tom Kilkenny in the northeast region encourages all interested promotions to contact Tom at TomK@UMMAF.org for details or call 781-400-4772.

“We couldn’t be more pleased that the State of New York and the New York State Athletic Commission has entrusted us with athlete safety and the regulation of combat sports in that great state.” says UMMAF Vice President and National Director Ryan Brueggeman. “For years the northeast region was largely unregulated by law and it made sanctioning activities difficult which gave us hesitation to pursue activities there. Now that we have been approved in New York, and with the addition of Tom Kilkenny, we feel we have opened a door of opportunity for promoters with our new discounted insurance programs and quality officials, as well as for the athletes who will be able to compete in UMMAF/KICK sanctioned events and regional qualifiers for our National Championship Tournament. For years we have held these tournaments without much or any representation from the northeast region. Those days are now over!”

Brueggeman also gave a hint to UMMAF’s plan’s. “Little by little and state by state, we are dedicated to take a managed growth approach to quality sanctioning. While we are ecstatic when we are approved in new states, we must always ensure that our activities are above reproach, transparent, and always in the best interest of these athletes that put in the work, as well as the promoters that trust us to regulate their events in a safe but affordable manner. If we do not feel we can accomplish those goals, we need to slow down and evaluate ourselves. New York is the first step in our northeast expansion and through this approach I can see UMMAF moving into other states as we convince them of our program and mission.”

UMMAF’s first event to be sanctioned in New York will be Aggressive Combat Championships 19 on September 22nd at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY.